Oregon Lavender Festival

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Today we went to the Oregon Lavender Festival.  There were a number of destinations to choose from, and we decided to go to the Blue Heron Herbary out on Sauvie Island, which is a worthwhile destination all its own.  We enjoyed our day.  From our house the drive to Sauvie Island takes us through rural areas for the most part, and we enjoyed the green fields and the many barns we passed along the way.

According to Wikipedia, Sauvie Island, originally Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island, is the largest island along the Columbia River at 26,000 acres, and one of the largest river islands in the United States. It lies approximately ten miles northwest of downtown Portland, between the Columbia River to the east, the Multnomah Channel to the west, and the Willamette River to the south.  We have, on occasion, taken our boat all the way around the island, which is an all day trip.  It makes for a fun day of sight-seeing, soaking up the sun, and taking lots of pictures.

The Blue Heron Herbary was just what it claims to be--an herbary. They didn't have the fields of lavender that I was expecting. Rather, they had pots of lavender in their greenhouse as well as multitudes of other herbs in the greenhouse and in their herb garden.  While it wasn't the lavender extravaganza I had in mind, it was still well worth the drive out there.  We saw lots of other things in addition to the lavender.  There were lots of honeybees, which was reassuring to me.  My father and I kept bees together when I was growing up, and it remains my fondest memory of him. 

I took lots of pictures, and they don't require much explanation, so I'll just let you look. This is a little structure behind the main house. The pond to the left of it (which you can't see in the image) was filled with water lilies.

Pretty much the extent of their lavender "fields", but man, did it smell good standing in this spot.

I thought this little bird house made from a primitive percolator was cute.

Lavender drying in their gift shop.

These cute little people were also in the gift shop.

Lots of bees.  It was hard to take a picture without getting any bees in it, and in any case, I didn't try.  

This next image is blooming Thai basil.

We have one of these yellow butterfly bushes in our yard.

The characters in this next image look like something Dr. Seuss might have written about.

This next image is a dill head.  Great for making pickles.

Blooming mint and a Morning Glory.

Cosmos.

I have a few more images I'm saving for another time.  I hope you enjoyed these.